My Beautiful Beast Punto MJD 1.3: Crossed 32000 KM

. This is a discussion on My Beautiful Beast Punto MJD 1.3: Crossed 32000 KM within Ownership Reviews. Part of The Automotive Reviews category; So this is how it all happened, and I am extremely sorry if this post seems to boring but I ...

So this is how it all happened, and I am extremely sorry if this post seems to boring but I want to write down each and every moment I went through before I ended up buying my Beautiful Beast (This is what I call her. She is beautiful but there is a beast sitting inside.)

Till Feb 2011 I was in UK and my marriage was fixed on 20th of Feb with my beloved colleague and she was also in UK with me till Jan 2011. So one of the points in post marriage planning was that we need to buy a car and yes then it stopped at this point only no research no investigations nothing. So after marriage I need to go to in-laws house for some religious ceremony and from there started the whole research for car buying. My wife’s favourite uncle (Mama) suggested DZire or SX4 diesel. And like what every Indian would suggest go for only Maruti Suzuki, others will trick or cheat you. So coming back from ceremony we went to Kerala tour and we had booked a car there we asked car driver as well and he also suggest Maruti Suzuki Swift despite he himself owing Tata Indica. So coming back from tour I started my research online for car that will fit my needs and budget.
SX4 : Out of budget and big sedan car and I don’t know driving. So was ruled out.

DZire: Going through reviews on various forums, blogs, sites, etc. Good car almost all owners happy with the car. But then rules out because it was sedan. Took we real effort to convince wifey that we don’t yet need sedan.

In the mean time I started my driving classes and we bought used Maruti Zen vxi 2002 model (again Maruti) on May 27th 2011 (on Mom’s bday). I was learning driving and wifey last drived car 4 years back, so we planned to buy new car after 6 months , may be around dec-jan 2011. Atlast we started searching cars other than DZire and SX4. And obvious choice was Maruti Swift Petrol/Diesel. And as petrol prices were rocketing outside limit we decided whichever car we buy should be diesel.

One day while going to work wifey called me I saw Grey color Ford Figo and it is brilliant and I want this car only. And as you all know once wife says I want this thing, she really mean it. So research starts again going though blogs, forums, etc. And one fine day we decided we will go for Ford Figo Grey color, but as we need car in dec we stopped discussing about it. But as me automobile enthusiasts Swift was always back in my mind. Going through lots of comparison between Fog Diesel and Swift Diesel and everywhere in all reviews and comparisons both Figo and Swift were winners in their strength, but one thing that was deal breaker for Ford Figo was low ground clearance. So ruled out. Wife was really very sad with the decision, but then I explained her the consequences of low GC and also where stay the road is full of big potholes during rain. Then last choice was Swift.
In August 2011 I called Spectra Motors in Borivali and asked for TD for new Swift 2011 and 28th August me and wifey went there for TD and after TD we both were so excited and happy . The features it offered and car itself. The power, the handling , the pickup, the steering response, everything was just perfect expect for Boot space, but I was Ok with that. So we went ahead and booked New Swift 2011 Glistening Grey (which was changed later on to Silver) by paying 10k. They promised delivery in Dec 2011 / Jan 2011 and we were Ok with it as we planning it that way. The next weekend I took my parents for TD and they much much excited and happy with car.

This was the background or you can say flash back. The real story begins now.

So everything was going perfect with our Swift 2011 selection until the strike at Manesar plant. It was really nail biting situation. Going through all the forums, reading the posts about the strike and consequences of the same. And then strike was called off, but in some worked again gone for strike and happened 3 times. And this was the time I was still going through the reviews for other cars as well and FIAT Punto caught my eye. I always liked the car from my heart for its (or should say her looks), but I was not sure about the after sales and maintenance of the same. So started searching for Punto MJD 1.3 and going through all possible reviews available on the internet. But as 3rd strike was also called I with many others who have booked Swift were relieved. So next day I called the Spectra Motors asking about my delivery and to my surprise reply was I will get delivery in Dec 2011. I was more than 100% sure this is not going to happen. In the mean time I again started convincing wifey for FIAT Punto and her answer was why do you need new car early, what’s the problem in getting delivery in March/April 2012 and to this I did not have answer. But my Zen VXI had answer for this. Every weekend car used to get some problems for which I need to take her to Mechanic and from the time I bought car I have spent 22k on it and people says Maruti’s car maintenance in very low. 22k in 5 months. And also we were feeling bit paranoid taking that car for long drive as it might give some problem on the way and taking this point I somehow convinced wifey if not Punto we should start looking for other options.

So on 24th Oct 2011 I called Balaji Motors enquiring about the car and the SE said there is huge offer available on Punto Diesel as well. So I asked him for TD on 27th Oct and he said he will send the TD car at my home and me and wifey were all set for TD on 27th Oct at 11.00 AM. And we were waiting till 12 no signs of TD car and I called him and he said car is on the way but there is lot of traffic sir. 1 PM till no car. Wife got angry on me , somehow I calm her down and we had lunch and then at 3.30 pm got call form SE that car got punctured on GhodBunder road and need to take car back to Service Station. He said that car will be available for TD on next day on this I got angry and said before buying car you people are providing such pathetic customer service what will happen after buying the car and hang up the call. Next day we were not expecting any TD car but he called at 10 Am that TD car has left the showroom and will reach my home in 1 hour and at 11.15 AM TD car was in front of my eyes .The TD began, everything is good about car not problems, no rattle. The ODO was showing 5.5k. I already knew most of things about the car and TD was done. As it were Diwali days we were on leave and on next day we went to Spectra Motors personally to enquire about my Swift Delivery. On asking the SE said delivery will be made in Dec 2011 and I was shocked, people are getting 8-9 months wait and how can he say so surely about delivery in Dec 2011. I asked again that Strike have just got over 1 week ago, are you still sure you can make delivery in Dec 2011. He got check & mate and then he pretended as if he thought I was asking petrol or some other car and asked me were you talking about ZDI? I said yes. Ohhh then it is not possible in current financial year. I said thanks and left Spectra Motors.

Then we headed straight to Balaji Cars and in car wifey asked me are we really changing our booking from Swift to Punto and I said lets checkout the Punto at showroom and then decide. We reached Balaji cars we looked around display car and my wife sat inside car and was trying too look at all things comparing with Swift and trying to find any negative point as compared to Swift and she was not able to do so (on asking after Punto booking she agreed that yes she was trying to find negative point but car is so good that she was unsuccessful in doing so). The Td car was 90HP and I wanted to buy 75hp and SE arranged for the one for TD and this time my wifey also had TD. When we finished the TD I looked at ODO and it was showing 15K and car was running as smooth as new one. No rattles and smooth pickup. So we booked the car by paying 25k on the spot and delivery was promised in 15-20 days and I was happy. We came back to Spectra Motors and cancelled the booking for Swift 2011.

I informed SE that I will care of loan from SBI. I took loan for 6 lacs from SBI with Over Draft facility (If anyone wants to know about SBI OD facility I can explain the same). SBI asks for lots of documents, so I was running between balaji Cars and SBI chasing all documents. Whenever I asked for any documents from Balaji, the reply from SE would “no worries Sir, I will do it”, but it never happens and then I have personally collect documents from their showroom. This was time when I realised that one should buy Car from the showroom near to the home. Balaji cars in 30 km away from home and before delivery I have visited them at least 4-5 times for getting documents and stuffs. Atlast loan got approved and was disbursed to their account on 14th Nov 2011. I was happy. SE said Car is with him and will send for registration. I asked him whether I can take delivery before registration and he said Ok and we planned delivery on 19th Nov.

EDIT:

After you have read the entire story which ends here, you guys can go through the following links for easy navigation through my thread -

On the day SE called me that I am not in office are you Ok taking delivery from other Se and I was Ok with it. Me, Wife, Dad and Mom reached Balaji cars at 3 PM. The surprise was waiting for me there. People in Balaji Cars don’t know about my delivery that day. And my car with temp registration was standing outside and did PDI and everything was looking good. Other Se took car for washing adn car was here. There was one more delivery for Linea on the same day so my car delivery got delayed and at last everything was done (all documentations, PDI, Pooja ) and SE handed over keys to me and we left Balaji cars at 7 PM with smile on our faces. But one thing I got really very tired that day because Balaji people talks too much and act less. It’s not that they don’t want to do it, they want to help us in every manner they can, but always find something missing. But leaving all those things behind I was much more happy for my Beautiful Beast. We reached home for bigger Pooja and to my wife’s surprise who was sitting on front left seat, the door would not open and there was some issue with the handle. Sometimes it would open and some time it would not. But good thing was that the SE was calling me in every 30 minutes during the whole delivery process whether everything is going properly or not and at 9 pm I again got call from him asking about how was everything and I informed him about door handle. He promised to get it done when my car will be taken for registration. On next day Sunday me and wifey went to SiddhiVinayak and from there we went to VKool outlet just opposite to SiddhiVinayak but it was closed. Then we went to South Mumbai , there is a big market for automobiles at Opera House , but everything was closed. But there was one VKool outlet there was as well. We got sunfilm done there and then headed back to Home.

Driver came on Wednesday and took car for registration and from there took car directly to showroom for fixing door handle and also Teflon coating and under body antirust which they promised was not done. So he will get everything done at that time. I called him on Thursday to check if everything is done and all remaining documents were ready and he confirmed everything was done. So from worked I reached Balaji by using all means transport that one can use (rickshaw, train, Bus). On reaching there to my surprise handle issue was not fixed, none of the document s were ready. He said me to take car and come back on Saturday and he will get everything done. I said you only keep car with get everything done finally and then call me and please make it last time.

Ok so he called on Friday that my registration number is done and all other documents and he will deliver the car at 11 AM to my home. Me happy again, but wait there was one more shock to this.

Next day I was waiting for delivery, so about 12.30 PM I called him, and my call was not answer. He called me back again at 1.30PM. first thing he said was “Sir one problem have occurred with your car” and my heart was in my mouth. One car scratched your car while we were on signal. I have given car for paint job and nothing will be evident. I got really angry and said don’t send car I am coming there for taking car and will do the inspection and if I am not happy give me money back I don’t want the car. I informed wifey about this and she said let me come with you. I am very patient guy and she knows when I reach there I won’t say much to them. So once again using rickshaw and then BEST bus standing all the way somehow we reached the Balaji showroom. My car was already in the showroom. I and wife tried very hard to find the scratch but we were not able to and the left front door handle issue was also solved. The SE came in after 10 minutes and my wife started firing on him and I had to calm her down. Then SE showed where the scratch was and me and wife were Ok with it. So then we thanked to SE for all the help he did and for delivery of the car.
So now all happy we came back home. So this was my long story (boring for some) of how I got hold of my Beautiful Beast.

Ownership Review:Few things said by family members who don’t know anything about cars.

Rear Leg room is better than swift (from dad and mom who both were with me for Swift TD).

Small bumps on road are not felt within the car. In swift this was evident (from dad).

Boot is bigger than Swift (from mom and dad).

Points from me:

Really good suspensions, car just run like butter on roads.

Absorbs small bumps and potholes like it was never there.

Steering is heavier than Swift, and that’s the thing I am loving more. On highways i can just control car with my finger on the steering.

Dead Pedal is very useful.

OEM Music system is good and speakers are good. Meets my need.

Blue and me is really good.

Seats are quite comfortable, even after doing long drives I don’t feel tired which was the case after driving my old Zen.

Controls on Steering are just too cool.

I have no problems with dash board, for me it is really good after coming from Zen.

I have seen on many posts that the dash board hitting knee, but that’s not happening with me. Instead I am using dashboard to rest my knee when my left foot is not on clutch.

Boot is bigger.

ACC works perfectly alright. Setting on 23 degree cools car in few minutes.

1st gear is bit short and 2nd gear is of no use. It just helps you to get to 3rd gear and this is the gear where you feels the power of the car. I had really hard time yesterday when I was on Western Express highway in middle of medium traffic 3rd gear was taking car ahead much quicker than anticipated. Then I used 2nd gear most of times till I reached home safely. Need to get use to the torque and power of the car quickly to enjoy and beauty with power.

Clutch is really very long on the day of delivery after reaching home my left leg started paining due to long clutch, but now I am used to it.

Clutch and accelerator are really smooth no need to take extra efforts to pus them.

Gears are good, but always give me feeling lie gears placed on wear out rubber. I don’t know if some else had the same feeling. Initially I was having problems for putting car in 4th gear while coming down from 5th gear, but now I got over it.

Tire noise is on higher side and on the roads constructed using bricks it becomes louder. While I love that sound, my parents get annoyed with it.

Adjustable headlight is also good feature. Headlights are good enough and gives enough light on dark roads. While coming back after taking delivery we have to come via GhodBunder road where there are no lights and whole road is like jungle on both the sides and head lights did the job perfectly.

When they say Cup Holders, they really meant cup holder. There is no place to keep 1 litre bottle.

I cannot see the front corners of the car , and this causes problem when in heavy traffic. People usually end shouting at me “aage itna jaga hia to lona gaadi aage”. And my reply to them is “nahi leneka hia, kya karega”. He he.

After the final delivery ODO was showing 250KM and did a full tank that time. 41 litres of diesel just for Rs.1800. Biggest smile on my face. Yesterday the ODO showed 450 KM and fuel bar is on the third line. Tank capacity is 45 litres and if bar is on third line means I have used approx 12-13 litres. So the mileage should be 16-17 approx. I have driven car from extremely empty Eastern Express Highways and extremely congested IIT Powai road. 80% of time AC is ON. MID display is showing average consumption as 14.5. Don’t know if I am wrong or ODO is showing something wrong.

Dead pedal sometimes obstructs my leg while pushing the clutch, but now I got over that as well.

VKool sunfilms are really good, The difference is quite evident. And I think the 18k was worth it. But some part of me always thinks that I was ripped. But truly speaking wifey is happy with it, because she gets skin irritation with heat and sunlight and if she is not complaining after put VKool sunfilms then I got value for my money that put in VKool sunfilms.

Once windows glass are up the world inside the car is totally different then outside. Except for horns and sound of royal enflied no sound can come in

Few Question to other Punto Owners.

If the car gets stopped in the middle of the road, then I have switch off the entire engine and start again. Is one the feature of the Punto or some problem with my car or is it me doing something wrong?

While playing music from USB Drive, system is by default in shuffle mode and keeps on playing single song again and again and I have to change the track manually.

Its raining Puntos in TAI. I have lost the count of the owners of this Italian beast on board. A warm Welcome to The Automotive India. Congratulations for your new acquisition, wish you lacs of happy miles.

I am already aware of 3 Puntos from Mumbai. We should have a mini Punto meet soon. Lineas are also welcome, we can have a FIAT meet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dharmesh

So this is how it all happened, and I am extremely sorry if this post seems to boring but I want to write down each and every moment I went through before I ended up buying my Beautiful Beast (This is what I call her. She is beautiful but there is a beast sitting inside.)

Really? Can a Punto's ownership report be boring?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dharmesh

On next day Sunday me and wifey went to SiddhiVinayak and from there we went to VKool outlet just opposite to SiddhiVinayak but it was closed.

Even my car has V Kool & I got it done from the same place.

Quote:

Points from me:
[*]Tire noise is on higher side and on the roads constructed using bricks it becomes louder. While I love that sound, my parents get annoyed with it.

I bet you get a 'grrrrrrr' sound on paver blocks. I also bet you must have got Goodyear GT3 tyres!

Quote:

[*]I cannot see the front corners of the car , and this causes problem when in heavy traffic. People usually end shouting at me “aage itna jaga hia to lona gaadi aage”. And my reply to them is “nahi leneka hia, kya karega”. He he.

you must tell them "i dont drive an auto to keep a 2mm gap", especially to auto drivers.

Quote:

[*]After the final delivery ODO was showing 250KM and did a full tank that time. 41 litres of diesel just for Rs.1800. Biggest smile on my face.

Punto has a fuel tank capacity of 45 litres. Please remember that the car will stall even if it has 2-3 litres in the tank. That is for your own convenience so that you dont have to pump the diesel pump if the car runs dry & air gets into it.

So you had only 2 litres left, not 4! I also always fill when the needle goes to the bottom & its always 41 litres for Rs. 1800/- approx!

80% of time AC is ON. MID display is showing average consumption as 14.5. Don’t know if I am wrong or ODO is showing something wrong.

Thats okay, even my car shows the same. And its accurate.

Quote:

[*]VKool sunfilms are really good, The difference is quite evident. And I think the 18k was worth it.

+10.

Quote:

[*]Once windows glass are up the world inside the car is totally different then outside. Except for horns and sound of royal enflied no sound can come in

This difference is more apparent after you sit in a maruti, toyota or hyundai. the sound insulation is awesome.

Quote:

Few Question to other Punto Owners.[LIST=1][*]If the car gets stopped in the middle of the road, then I have switch off the entire engine and start again. Is one the feature of the Punto or some problem with my car or is it me doing something wrong?

That is a safety feature to prevent double crank. Perfectly normal.

Quote:

[*]While playing music from USB Drive, system is by default in shuffle mode and keeps on playing single song again and again and I have to change the track manually.

@ Dharmesh... congratulations on your Italian Beast (I do not like to call it a beast. Beauty is a more apt name I feel. Beast suits someone like Scorpio). Tuscan Wine looks great on the Punto.
One question though. Why did you go for 75 HP. The 90 HP would have cost only around 22k more. The OTR of my 90 HP is 745000. The delivery is due this week.
Also from your post I assume that you live in Borivali or nearabouts. So why go all the way to Balaji Ghodbunder for your booking? Was their offer the best among what you searched?

What is the most common color of Puntos in TAI.
Mine is Fox Trot Azure.

Last edited by 350Z; 3rd December 2011 at 10:22 PM.
Reason: Back to back posts merged.

@ Dharmesh... congratulations on your Italian Beast (I do not like to call it a beast. Beauty is a more apt name I feel. Beast suits someone like Scorpio). Tuscan Wine looks great on the Punto.
One question though. Why did you go for 75 HP. The 90 HP would have cost only around 22k more. The OTR of my 90 HP is 745000. The delivery is due this week.
Also from your post I assume that you live in Borivali or nearabouts. So why go all the way to Balaji Ghodbunder for your booking? Was their offer the best among what you searched?

I always had 75HP in my mind was never thinking about 90HP and after driving the car I think 75Hp is enough for me.

To answer your second question, after taking TD from Balaji Cars I went to Om Sai cars in Kandivali west and Wasan Motors in Borivali east, both were closed during Diwali time and were going to get open after on 2nd November. The SE at Balaji Cars informed me that offer is only valid till 31st Oct, so I had no choice and I din't wanted to miss out on any sort of offer. But then on delivery day I came to know that the offer is extended for one more month. But on that day I already had what I worked hard for

@Thetraveller : Congratulations for your Punto. We are surely waiting for ownership review from you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by raj_5004

I bet you get a 'grrrrrrr' sound on paver blocks. I also bet you must have got Goodyear GT3 tyres!

I think those are Apollo. and also one of the attachment shows it as apollo.

Last edited by 350Z; 3rd December 2011 at 10:23 PM.
Reason: Back to back posts merged. Note removed.

Congrats Dharmesh.Punto no doubt the best looking hatch in India, with Polo.Solid Engg and build quality.Like everyone say built like a tank ,door closes with the sweet thud sound. Superb color choice.Wish you a very pleasent journey with FIAT PUNTO.

This is one funny incident that heppened few days back which I would like to share. I showed wifey the instant consumption display on how it helps us to get best mileage out of our driving style. And then when she was driving FM Radio was on and she glanced at MID and it was showing 91.1. For the moment she tought her driving style is able get 91 kmpl mileage , but later on she realised MID is displaying FM Radio channel not instant consumption.

@Raj_5004 : How can I reach to these settings (i.e. which button should I press that will take me to settings for MP3) because I tried to find it but was not able to.

Also a question to all punto owners:
While AC is on and change the direction of AC from face to legs only driver and the rear seat below drivcer is getting AC blow. right front and read seats are not getting the same.
is there any setting for this? or I need to visit TASS?

This is one funny incident that heppened few days back which I would like to share. I showed wifey the instant consumption display on how it helps us to get best mileage out of our driving style. And then when she was driving FM Radio was on and she glanced at MID and it was showing 91.1. For the moment she tought her driving style is able get 91 kmpl mileage , but later on she realised MID is displaying FM Radio channel not instant consumption.

@Raj_5004 : How can I reach to these settings (i.e. which button should I press that will take me to settings for MP3) because I tried to find it but was not able to.

You mean to say you dont want the MID to show the radio info.

* Press the main button on the steering wheel
* use up or down arrow to go to 'settings'
* select Radio display
* Switch to 'OFF'

Problem solved. Now it will not show radio info on the MID.

If you dont want to switch it off but you want to see inst. consumption while driving, press the button on the right stalk (wiper stalk) & go it inst. consumption.